Nigeria, March 9 -- According to industry sources, output from Iraq's main southern oilfields has dropped to about 1.3 million barrels per day, a steep decrease from the roughly 4.3 million barrels produced per day prior to the escalation of Gulf tensions.

The steep fall results from shipping limitations in the strategic channel that prevent tankers from flowing freely, thereby creating major export bottlenecks.



Officials claim the nation is currently short on storage space, which is causing authorities to cut back on manufacturing. Already overflowing storage facilities are redirecting much of the leftover crude to home refineries instead of foreign ones.



Only two oil tankers loaded crude at Iraq's southern export terminals ove...